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April 8, 2002

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Last day in Oman, we spend our time at the Syrian embassy jumping through hoops to get a visa. Incidentally, did you know that one Omani Riyal is worth more than two American dollars? One of the few currencies where the base unit commands a higher value than the US dollar. By nightfall we take a bus back to Dubai, through the bordertown at Hatta. The border guards notice we don't have a UAE exit stamp and they suspect that we're smugglers. After tense conversation, they realize we're clueless tourists so they backdate an exit stamp and then re-stamp our passports.
Modern housing developments grow in the desert. Architects favor the 'castle look.'
No need for table manners on the floor. We tried traditional Omani food - one dish, called Harees Laham, was a wheat meat paste (tasted like bland meat porridge), the other dish, called Thereedh Laham, was bread soaked in spicy meat curry.